Wow James - your talent overflows. Your painting skills are stunning.
I am somewhat of an artist myself, and definitely an art lover. When my wife and I take cruises, we attend their art auctions, which are always fun. On our last cruise we bought a beautiful set, done by Peter Nixon. He was an artist we were not familiar with, but his style resonates across the spectrum of all art lovers. Which brings me to my next point...
My first suggestion to you would be to make your work less "static." Although it is of high quality, it is, well, dull. Before I buy art, I ask myself, could I enjoy looking at this every day? Your Kudu picture, for a prime example, is - no, absolutely not. No question you have the talent part mastered, but your pictures do not stir emotions, or tell a story. As an example, instead of a lion staring head on to the viewer, how about a lion leaping in mid flight? Same subject - vastly different levels of engagement with the viewer. You have reached the summit of talent - now concentrate on delivering the excitement in the message!
Okay - enough of that. We do own canvas prints of Thomas Kinkade also. I never tire of looking at them. One artist that I did not like at first is Peter Max. It takes a long time for this work to sink in and be appreciated. But, surprisingly enough, I really do like his work now. Same with Romero Britto. Once he gets through my initial wall of rejection, his work gets better every time I view it. He has done themes on entire cruise ships.
Why do I say all of this? It's certainly in no way intended to disparage you in any way. I want you to look at these artists and experience how their paintings engage your brain. A rhino staring at me is, well, not engaging at all. Interesting for a few moments as I admire your skill - but no emotional connection taking place. Sorry. As an artist myself, I very much like to hear critique, so I can evolve. Your work, no slight intended, could be at least ten times more interesting.
Fun fact - I also have studied Bob Ross. Did you know he was never paid for his TV program? Not a dime. He became ultra successful from his kits and courses. His paintings today are highly sought after and command super premium prices. Hard to believe, since he put so little work into them - but he appeals to what people like. If, for example, he would have painted classic cars, and as good as he was, still - boring with a capital B! See my point?
So... my suggestion. You need an identity. I think with your talent you could compete with Peter Max, or anyone else for that matter. You need a "hook" that captures the viewer. Classic cars, buildings, and animals staring blankly at the viewer are on the bottom of the list. Sorry - again!
The reason this post is long is because right now I am in the process of creating commercial artwork myself to mass market. I am steering away from the "masterpiece" type of work, and heading headlong into the "this will sell to mass markets" type of appeal. In a word - cool. My work in development is not to show off my level of talent, but to push buttons with consumers. And I'm not only going to push buttons, I'm going to SLAM those buttons hard. I want everyone that sees my work to say - wow, that is really cool. My goal is for them to buy it - if not for themselves, someone they are close to - "Jimmy would LOVE this design." Like Kinkade, I am in it for THE MONEY. Sure it's nice to have talent and vision, but money is the measure of success I'm after. I don't want anyone to be a "fan" and I don't want to be "noticed" in any way. Just buy my stuff! I think I can pull that off, as I have a lot of years under my belt in having the skills to do this, as well as knowing what gets attention.
You can do the same thing. I once trained under a painter that won the duck stamp award, Charles Pearson. He was a perfectionist, much like yourself, and his work was stunning. But, it was ducks. Okay - great - ducks. How many people are going to get excited to see a loon sitting stationary on a lake? (that's one I vividly remember) Not too many. But he did it because he truly admired the beauty of birds. I wish I had his talent, because his talent added to my pizz-azz, could turn out some outstanding work!
I think you have a great opportunity to do extremely well in your field. You could be recognized among the modern masters. If I were you, I'd go for something along the lines of Frederic Remington bronze statues - for starters. Google that! They are highly sought after pieces that are ALL exciting. They all convey an intense snapshot in time of something that stops people in their tracks. Nobody walks by one of these pieces without stopping to admire it! You can do that, even better I would guess, because you could infuse intense color to get an even greater "reach out and grab you" effect!
Okay - I've done my job. I've given you the good and the bad. And I've opened the door that can take to you higher levels. Remember me at your showings! I want a hand signed canvas print of your work! And even better - like Stan Lee does with his Marvel action movies (Spiderman, Thor, etc.) - he gets a cameo scene in every movie! Would it be asking tooooo much to include me in one of your paintings? Hey - I'd be immortal! Hundreds of years from now, someone somewhere will be looking at that painting and be saying - "why do you think this great artist chose to have this ugly guy in his painting?"
I am somewhat of an artist myself, and definitely an art lover. When my wife and I take cruises, we attend their art auctions, which are always fun. On our last cruise we bought a beautiful set, done by Peter Nixon. He was an artist we were not familiar with, but his style resonates across the spectrum of all art lovers. Which brings me to my next point...
My first suggestion to you would be to make your work less "static." Although it is of high quality, it is, well, dull. Before I buy art, I ask myself, could I enjoy looking at this every day? Your Kudu picture, for a prime example, is - no, absolutely not. No question you have the talent part mastered, but your pictures do not stir emotions, or tell a story. As an example, instead of a lion staring head on to the viewer, how about a lion leaping in mid flight? Same subject - vastly different levels of engagement with the viewer. You have reached the summit of talent - now concentrate on delivering the excitement in the message!
Okay - enough of that. We do own canvas prints of Thomas Kinkade also. I never tire of looking at them. One artist that I did not like at first is Peter Max. It takes a long time for this work to sink in and be appreciated. But, surprisingly enough, I really do like his work now. Same with Romero Britto. Once he gets through my initial wall of rejection, his work gets better every time I view it. He has done themes on entire cruise ships.
Why do I say all of this? It's certainly in no way intended to disparage you in any way. I want you to look at these artists and experience how their paintings engage your brain. A rhino staring at me is, well, not engaging at all. Interesting for a few moments as I admire your skill - but no emotional connection taking place. Sorry. As an artist myself, I very much like to hear critique, so I can evolve. Your work, no slight intended, could be at least ten times more interesting.
Fun fact - I also have studied Bob Ross. Did you know he was never paid for his TV program? Not a dime. He became ultra successful from his kits and courses. His paintings today are highly sought after and command super premium prices. Hard to believe, since he put so little work into them - but he appeals to what people like. If, for example, he would have painted classic cars, and as good as he was, still - boring with a capital B! See my point?
So... my suggestion. You need an identity. I think with your talent you could compete with Peter Max, or anyone else for that matter. You need a "hook" that captures the viewer. Classic cars, buildings, and animals staring blankly at the viewer are on the bottom of the list. Sorry - again!
The reason this post is long is because right now I am in the process of creating commercial artwork myself to mass market. I am steering away from the "masterpiece" type of work, and heading headlong into the "this will sell to mass markets" type of appeal. In a word - cool. My work in development is not to show off my level of talent, but to push buttons with consumers. And I'm not only going to push buttons, I'm going to SLAM those buttons hard. I want everyone that sees my work to say - wow, that is really cool. My goal is for them to buy it - if not for themselves, someone they are close to - "Jimmy would LOVE this design." Like Kinkade, I am in it for THE MONEY. Sure it's nice to have talent and vision, but money is the measure of success I'm after. I don't want anyone to be a "fan" and I don't want to be "noticed" in any way. Just buy my stuff! I think I can pull that off, as I have a lot of years under my belt in having the skills to do this, as well as knowing what gets attention.
You can do the same thing. I once trained under a painter that won the duck stamp award, Charles Pearson. He was a perfectionist, much like yourself, and his work was stunning. But, it was ducks. Okay - great - ducks. How many people are going to get excited to see a loon sitting stationary on a lake? (that's one I vividly remember) Not too many. But he did it because he truly admired the beauty of birds. I wish I had his talent, because his talent added to my pizz-azz, could turn out some outstanding work!
I think you have a great opportunity to do extremely well in your field. You could be recognized among the modern masters. If I were you, I'd go for something along the lines of Frederic Remington bronze statues - for starters. Google that! They are highly sought after pieces that are ALL exciting. They all convey an intense snapshot in time of something that stops people in their tracks. Nobody walks by one of these pieces without stopping to admire it! You can do that, even better I would guess, because you could infuse intense color to get an even greater "reach out and grab you" effect!
Okay - I've done my job. I've given you the good and the bad. And I've opened the door that can take to you higher levels. Remember me at your showings! I want a hand signed canvas print of your work! And even better - like Stan Lee does with his Marvel action movies (Spiderman, Thor, etc.) - he gets a cameo scene in every movie! Would it be asking tooooo much to include me in one of your paintings? Hey - I'd be immortal! Hundreds of years from now, someone somewhere will be looking at that painting and be saying - "why do you think this great artist chose to have this ugly guy in his painting?"
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